1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to control signaling over access channels in mobile communication environments, and more particularly, to access configurations of a mobile communication device towards a cellular access station over an Enhanced Access Channel (EACH).
2. Description of the Related Art
With growing demand for ubiquitous computing and networking, various wireless technologies have been developed, such as the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) technology, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) technology, Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution (EDGE) technology, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) technology, Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (CDMA2000) technology, 1x High Rate Packet Data (1xHRPD) technology, Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) technology, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) technology, Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, and Time-Division LTE (TD-LTE) technology, etc.
Take the CDMA2000 1x Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) Revision F (or called 1x EV-DO Rev F) technology as an example. When a Mobile Station (MS) (or called User Equipment (UE)) attempts to access a base station, it has to transmit an access request on the Access Channel (ACH) (or called Reverse ACH (R-ACH)) or on the EACH (or called Reverse EACH (R-EACH)). The EACH is similar to the ACH in that the MS's Transmission (Tx) operations on the EACH are randomized to avoid collisions with other MSs' Tx operations on the same channel. The EACH has been further improved, having lower probability of collisions, as the message durations of the MS's Tx operations on the EACH are typically shorter than the message durations of the MS's Tx operations on the ACH. The EACH can be used in different access modes, including a basic access mode and a reservation access mode. For transmission of the access request on the EACH, the MS must determine which access mode and what data rate to use. However, according to the 3GPP2 C.S0003 and C.S0005 Rev F specifications, the base station does not provide sufficient EACH related parameters to the MS for assisting with access mode selection and data rate determination. As a result, the MS's Tx operations on the EACH would be impaired.